Master Drilling’s first remote drilling system in Canada: design and safety notes for mine engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Master Drilling has commissioned its first remote drilling system in Canada at Agnico Eagle’s Odyssey Mine in Quebec, starting with reaming a 220-m hole using a 5.5-m diameter reamer. The RD7 raiseboring machine is operated remotely, removing personnel from the immediate drilling area while maintaining tight control of alignment and breakthrough. For geotechnical and mine planning teams, the successful large-diameter, long-hole trial signals growing viability of remote raiseboring for ventilation shafts and service raises in deep Canadian operations.
Technical Brief
- Remote drilling console is located away from the RD7, eliminating exposure at the raise collar.
- Control system allows full manipulation of thrust, rotation and feed pressures from the remote station.
- Real-time monitoring of torque, penetration rate and deviation enables early response to abnormal ground behaviour.
- Remote cameras and on-board sensors provide visual and data feedback, replacing direct line-of-sight supervision.
- Communication between RD7 and operator uses a dedicated digital link, reducing reliance on verbal shaft-side instructions.
- System design reduces personnel presence around high-energy rotating equipment and high-pressure flushing circuits.
- Fewer people at the face simplifies compliance with mine site exclusion zones and lock-out/tag-out procedures.
Our Take
Agnico Eagle’s roll-out of Master Drilling’s remote system at the Odyssey Mine in Quebec aligns with its broader capital push in Canada, including the planned C$14 billion spend in Ontario by 2030, signalling that productivity and safety tech is likely to be a major lever in justifying that investment pipeline.
Quebec’s hard‑rock gold camps around Val‑d’Or, highlighted in our coverage as moving to deeper, more complex underground orebodies, are a natural test bed for large‑diameter (5.5 m) remote reaming, which could become a reference case for similar deep-level developments in the Abitibi belt.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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